


Down on the Ground

by Welfycat



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Community: kink_bingo, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-03
Updated: 2012-06-03
Packaged: 2017-11-06 18:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/422052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Welfycat/pseuds/Welfycat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're a team of superheroes, they're bound to do stupid things and nearly destroy the world from time to time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Down on the Ground

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Kink Bingo Round Four; Prompt: Obedience  
> Content Notes: None.

Steve sat on a chair outside Coulson's office, his head tilted down until the only thing he was staring at was the stainless white tiles of the floor and his own black shoes that were slightly scuffed on the left toe. Clint was sitting to his left, as quiet as he was when he was tucked away in a sniper hole but his fingers flipping a pen endlessly. Steve had watched the pen travel back and forth, the end rising and falling hypnotically, until he'd started feeling slightly sea-sick. And since Steve had never felt motion sickness after the serum that was probably a bad sign. If he thought he could get away with it he'd go down to the SHIELD infirmary and let them know that something was wrong with him. Tony made a small noise of pleasure as he looked at something on his computer-phone. He was slouched in the chair to the right of Steve, his feet sticking out into the walkway and he seemed completely unconcerned that Coulson had ordered them to his office so late in the evening. Of course, people like Tony never cared when they got in trouble; they never even seemed to notice.

When Tony caught Steve looking he grinned and Steve quickly looked away again, reminded that Tony was the reason they were all sitting there like a group of truant teens outside the principal's office. Well, Clint was at least partially to blame as well, but Tony was the one who had dragged Steve into the plan with the enticing lure of "Come on, Cap. It'll be a fun. Team bonding!" And Steve, just like the idiot he'd always been, had joined them in taking a peak into the little portal that Tony had somehow managed to open into an alternate dimension or something, and the world had nearly ended as a result. Steve had occasionally followed Bucky into doing some pretty dumb things when they were kids, but they hadn't had the capacity to destroy the world then. Now it seemed like everywhere Steve looked the world was just a step away from total destruction and most of those times the Avengers were the only recourse. The rest of the time there was simply nothing anyone could do but wait for disaster to be finished with them.

Steve looked up again at the sound of footsteps rounding the corner and watched as Coulson marched crisply toward his office. The cuffs of his suit jacket were still singed which mean he hadn't had the opportunity to clean himself up yet, even though the Avengers had all removed their uniforms and changed into their street clothes. With a twinge of guilt Steve had a pretty good hunch that Coulson hadn't been able to do anything for himself since they'd come tumbling back through the portal into Stark Tower and sending the alarm that their was an alien invasion on their heels. They were only lucky that no one had been seriously injured because of their foolishness. Clint had wound up with ten stitches in his upper arm, Tony had bruises down his left side where his armor had been smashed in, and one of the SHIELD agents who had responded to their distress call had a minor concussion. Any injuries Steve had sustained had already healed without a trace and Steve felt pretty guilty about that too.

Coulson passed by them without stopping and used his ID badge and fingerprint to access his office. "Inside," he instructed, and walked inside without waiting to see if his instructions would be obeyed.

Steve was the first to his feet, with Clint a close second, and Tony took his time pocketing his phone and pushing himself up like he had all the time he could possibly want. Tony led the way and once again Steve was left puzzling over whether Tony was stupid and oblivious to the danger around him or if he was just recklessly brave.

"Shut the door behind you," Coulson said, already seated behind his desk and not bothering to look up at them as they assembled in front of him.

Clint shut the door and gave Steve and Tony a look that so clearly said 'oh boy, now we've done it'. Usually when Coulson was disciplining his junior agents he left the door open so that the rest of the hovering agents would learn the lesson without having to make the mistake themselves. They weren't in any danger of eavesdroppers for this particular conversation anyway. Natasha and Bruce had left immediately after the debrief, both of them as irritated as Coulson was, and they'd taken Thor with them. Thor hadn't seen the problem with opening portals at random, nor with exploring them, but considering the cultural differences no one could exactly blame him.

Steve squared his shoulders and fell into parade rest. He hadn't had that much experience with disciplinary action within the military, he'd been too busy being on display or leading his own little band of soldiers around, but he knew the basics. SHIELD wasn't exactly a military operation, they didn't expect the same rigid conformity, but as far as Steve had managed to see they expected a certain level of personal and professional responsibility.

"We all know what you're going to say, so why don't we just skip it and you can give us our discipline forms saying _bad scientist, don't do that again_ ," Tony asked, folding his arms and raising his chin in defiance.

Coulson did look up at that. "You nearly brought an alien invasion to our doorstep and you want me to give you a form asking you to not do it again?"

Tony looked uncomfortable for about a second before he masked it. "Well, when you put it that way."

"Sit down. I'll deal with you later," Coulson said. He met Tony's gaze and held it, waiting like compliance was simply a matter of time.

"Well, you seem to have forgotten to requisition chairs," Tony said as he took an exaggerated look around the office. "Surely you have the papers for that somewhere in here."

Steve had never noticed that the only chair in Coulson's office was behind the desk, though he'd never had reason to be in Coulson's office for more than a moment or two to let him know that they were being called to a briefing or an emergency.

"Over there," Coulson said, and pointed to the edge of the room where there was an empty space on the floor next to a filing cabinet. "Sit and be quiet."

The silent stare down between Coulson and Tony was starting to get so uncomfortable that Steve felt almost compelled to break the moment just to draw Coulson's attention away. Instead Tony rolled his eyes and went to where Coulson was pointing. He waited another moment, making it clear that he was sitting because he wanted to sit and not because Coulson was making him. Steve could almost see the snarky comment forming on Tony's lips and shook his head minutely.

Before Tony could speak Coulson turned his attention to Clint. "Over by me, you know the drill by now," Coulson said, the corner of his mouth turning down briefly in displeasure.

Clint moved without a fight, his shoulders slumping far more than they had in the hallway. He dropped the pen he was still clutching on the surface of Coulson's desk and crouched down on the floor so that his back was pressed against the drawers and his legs were folded neatly beneath him. Coulson didn't look anymore pleased than he had when Tony had finally sat, but he turned his attention to Steve.

"Would you like me to sit somewhere, sir?" Steve asked when Coulson didn't give him directions.

"No, I want you to stay right there and explain yourself," Coulson said, his fingers lacing together as he leaned forward to watch Steve.

Steve swallowed and kept his eyes on the wall behind Coulson. "At 0930 this morning Tony requested my presence in his lab-"

"No," Coulson cut him off. "We've been over the facts of the matter in the debrief. I want to know what the hell you were thinking going through that portal with them. I want to know why you didn't report the portal immediately."

"He came with us because he couldn't stop us," Tony called from where he was sulking. "He was trying to keep us alive."

Steve resisted the urge to glance back at Tony because that wasn't the truth at all. If Steve had wanted to stop them, really wanted, he probably could have done it. Tony hadn't been in the Iron Man yet, and even though Clint was always armed he wasn't a match for Steve. Especially not when Steve had his shield with him and was already on alert. The truth was simply that he'd gone because he'd wanted to go with Tony and Clint and he hadn't really thought of the possibly consequences. In his defense, who could really predict an alien invasion?

"That's an interesting choice of words, Stark," Coulson said. "If you're going to lie to me you should at least try to be more convincing than a child with crumbs around his mouth saying he hadn't taken the cookie."

"Sir, I take full responsibility," Steve started, barely resisting the urge to flinch when Coulson brought his attention back to him.

"I'm sure you do, and as their team leader you should take responsibility. Just as I take responsibility for your actions here at SHIELD. That's not what I'm concerned about right now. You still haven't told me what you were thinking," Coulson said. "I'd expect this from Stark, from Barton even."

Steve did flinch at the unspoken statement that he was supposed to be leading by example and that Coulson had lost faith in him. "I was thinking about what we could find in a portal like that. Perhaps another ally like Thor and the Asgardians, or something that we could use to better defend Earth. I was thinking that I wanted Tony to be right, more than I wanted to be right," he admitted, looking down again.

Coulson released his tightly gripped hands and leaned back in his chair. "Failure of reasoning happens to the best of us, I'll admit that as readily as anyone else. However, when you take risks like that you must consider the consequences. There's no way to predict the future, especially with what we see everyday, but there are factors you can always plan on."

"Yes sir," Steve said, his chest tightening as he anticipated Coulson's wrapping up.

"I'm honestly less concerned with the fact that this nearly triggered an alien invasion than I am with the idea that you'd readily put your team in such danger," Coulson said, his tone light but his words anything but.

Steve felt like he'd just been punched in the gut. "Sir, we had no way of knowing what was on the other side of that portal."

"Precisely. Captain, you've become used to fighting alongside people who can hold their own. You're growing accustomed to winning against insurmountable odds. You are enhanced, unique, and have abilities beyond what most of us could dream. Agent Barton and Stark do not. They are exceptionably skilled men, to be certain, but they can't be shot and walk away without a scratch. With the exception of Thor, and possibly Dr. Banner, your team is very mortal. Keep that in mind the next time you willingly walk into a situation without knowing what might be waiting," Coulson said. His eyes met Steve's and held his gaze firmly.

"Yes, I will," Steve said. He felt deeply uncomfortable in his own body, guilt welling up as he thought of what might have happened in those first few moments when they were briefly overwhelmed and separated. What if he'd never seen Clint and Tony again?

"Come over here," Coulson said.

Steve found himself moving unthinkingly and stood by Coulson's side waiting his next instruction.

"Sit," Coulson said, pointing to the floor next to his desk and waiting while Steve folded his tall and muscular body down to the ground. "You're under my direct command for the next twenty-four hours. Consider it grounding until I can trust you again to make your own decisions."

"Yes sir," Steve said, bowing his head and moving his legs so they would be marginally more comfortable. Coulson's hand came down and rested on the top of Steve's head for a moment, and Steve suddenly felt a rush of relief. He hadn't really had a commanding officer in such a long time, he'd been tossed into the decision making process while hunting down Hydra, and then he'd been forced into the future and given his own team of superheroes. Knowing that Coulson was going tell him what to do, even if it was only for a day, was like lifting up a floodgate that he hadn't even known he'd been holding.

Steve sunk against Coulson's desk and chair and tuned out the battle of wills between Tony and Coulson and wallowed in the reminder that he could have lost so much that day when he'd already vowed to himself that he would keep what he had left and what he was making now as safe as possibly. _Never again_ Steve thought to himself and took a slow unwinding breath as Coulson's hand rested on his shoulder and squeezed with just the right amount of pressure.


End file.
